1. Anna Essinger remained in close contact with her former pupils for the rest of her life.
22 Facts About Anna Essinger
1. 2.
Anna Essinger was born on Hafengasse in Ulm, the oldest of six girls and three boys, to a non-observant Jewish couple, Fanny and Leopold Anna Essinger.
3.
Leopold Anna Essinger had an insurance business and served in World War I in Verdun, France.
4.
In 1899, at the age of 20, Anna Essinger went to the United States to live with her aunt in Nashville, Tennessee.
5.
Anna Essinger graduated from college with a degree in German studies, financing her education by teaching German and by running a private students' hostel, which she founded.
6.
Several members of the Anna Essinger family became involved, paving the way for it to open a year later.
7.
Anna Essinger became headmistress and her sister Paula, a trained nurse, became the school nurse and its housekeeper.
8.
Anna Essinger ran Landschulheim Herrlingen like a Montessori program, placing high value on communal living, mutual respect and a shared sense of responsibility for the school.
9.
Anna Essinger was described as a "formidable figure", "stout and stern" and as having the children's welfare at heart.
10.
Anna Essinger was a strict disciplinarian with both staff and pupils, but provided a loving, family environment.
11.
Anna Essinger believed that children should have physical exercise before breakfast.
12.
All public buildings were ordered to fly the Nazi flag with its swastika on Hitler's birthday in 1933, so Anna Essinger planned a day of hiking for the pupils, leaving the flag to fly over an empty building.
13.
Anna Essinger, realizing that her school had no future in Germany, and encouraged by her father to leave the country, began to look abroad for a new home for the school.
14.
Anna Essinger arranged a well-disguised trip for the group and on September 5,1933, they arrived in southern England.
15.
Anna Essinger sought English host families for children to visit on weekends; and at the school, held concerts, theatrical programs, sports contests and an annual "Open Day", involving the children in English life and the community with the school.
16.
However, the manner in which it was done appalled Anna Essinger, who likened it to a "cattle market", where attractive children were chosen, but less attractive ones were not, lowering morale.
17.
The experience of running the reception camp and placing the children was so difficult, that afterward, Anna Essinger refused to talk about it.
18.
Anna Essinger's eyesight was failing, but more significantly, the last children to arrive at her school were Nazi concentration camp survivors who no longer knew what normal life was like, and sometimes found it very difficult to adjust to.
19.
Anna Essinger helped both children and adults in distress with her motto, "Give children a hand, give them a chance".
20.
Many of Anna Essinger's pupils went on to distinguished careers, including Frank Auerbach, Leslie Brent, Gerard Hoffnung, Frank Marcus, Peter Morley, and Helmut and Richard Sonnenfeldt.
21.
Also in 2004, the city of Ulm celebrated its 1,150th anniversary and along with it, the birthdays of Anna Essinger and Albert Einstein, both born there.
22.
The celebration for Anna Essinger lasted a week and was attended by family members from the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as Germany; and former students.